Bulldogs take advantage of what Cougars can's see

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. - While Jefferson's boys soccer coach Doug Hunt wasn't ecstatic about what he saw Wednesday night, it's what he didn't see that bothered him most.

Hunt would have loved to have seen senior keeper Andrew McKee in goal against No. 1 Martinsburg, but as McKee was serving the second game of his two-game suspension, to put the Bulldogs on top in the sectional seeding race with a 4-2 win over the No. 2 Cougars.

"It's got to make a big difference," said Hunt of McKee's absence. "He's one of the top keepers in the state.

"Danny (Saum) did a heck of a job stepping in to fill those shoes, but we're not used to him being in there. You could see that there was some miscommunication."

"We did a few things differently defensively, and they worked out well," said Miller. "We put Joey in back, and he was able to control things for us defensively."

Trailing 2-1, Martinsburg tied the score on an Adam Polinik penalty kick in the 30th minute, allowing the Bulldogs (8-1-1) to escape a lackluster first half with a tie.

"Our first half was very messy," said Polinik. "(Nick Benavides') goal and the penalty kept us alive, and we knew if we could play our game we could pull it out."

Polinik gave Martinsburg the lead for good in the 52nd minute when he headed a Will Rouse throw-in past Saum for the 3-2 edge.

Down 1-0 after Benavides' goal, Jefferson (9-1-1) tied it when Brian Wenner's header was jarred from the arms of Martinsburg keeper Matt Martin into the net. The Cougars' second goal came two minutes later when a Martinsburg defender deflected a Jefferson shot on goal right to Matt Tiano, who slipped it past Martin for the 2-1 advantage.

"We've been down before, and we've come back," said Miller. "Emotions were running very high tonight."

The Bulldogs' final goal - by Manuel Garcia in the 70th minute - bounced between Saum's legs into the back of the net.